Bankruptcy judge OKs purchase of historic Mountain Lodge

Good news from Historic Flat Rock, from the Hendersonville Lightning:

Historic Flat Rock expects to close July 11 on the purchase of the historic Mountain Lodge after a bankruptcy judge approved its offer of $550,000 last month.

"We're going to stabilize it and offer it for sale to somebody who wants to restore it," HFR President Rick Merrill said. "We've actually got a conversation going with a prospective buyer and there may be more that come along."

Merrill estimates clearing the property and stabilizing the house will cost around $125,000 and take the rest of the summer. The prospective buyer wants to buy the property and live in it during the summer, posting a caretaker in cottage on the property. . .

Built around 1827, the home is one of the most significant examples of the movement of wealthy Charleston, S.C., landowners and business people into Flat Rock for summer homes. . .

Besides the 7,000-square-foot antebellum home, the 23-acre property includes a separate billiard room, a stone springhouse and a smaller cottage sitting in an overgrown field visible from Rutledge Drive. . .

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